Mike McCoy used 4 years of lessons as coach of Chargers for Broncos' offensive rebuild

By Nick Kosmider

The Denver Post

Posted:
09/10/2017 05:22:24 PM MDT

Updated:
09/10/2017 06:16:09 PM MDT

Bronco's offensive coordinator Mike McCoy smiles on the sidelines during the first quarter. against the Cardinals in Denver on Aug. 31. (John Leyba / The Denver Post)

DENVER — Mike McCoy removed his bright orange Broncos visor after practice last week and rubbed the roots of his hair.

How has he changed since he left his post as Denver's offensive coordinator in 2012, only to return eight months ago after a four-year stint as the head coach of the Chargers?

"Well, I'm gray," the 45-year-old said. "I've aged a little bit."

Yes, occupying one of 32 head coaching positions in the NFL can color any scalp 50 shades of gray. McCoy knows this well. After pulling the strings of a prolific Peyton Manning-led offense in 2012 — creating the blueprint for the record-setting unit Denver would have a season later — McCoy was hired by the Chargers to find a way to slow Manning and the Broncos. But Denver was only beginning a run under the famous, if aging, quarterback that would end in four division titles, two Super Bowl appearances and one championship.

McCoy, his team constantly ravaged by injuries and, later in his tenure, on the verge of moving from San Diego to Los Angeles, couldn't break through the Broncos or any other power in the AFC. He was fired in early January after posting a 27-37 record in his four seasons with the Chargers, including a 5-11 mark in 2016, and one playoff win (2013).

The reunion, it turned out, wouldn't have to wait. McCoy will face his old team, including quarterback Philip Rivers, when the Broncos meet the Chargers in the teams' season opener Monday night at Sports Authority Field at Mile High.

"If you were the head coach for the Chargers and you got fired, you play them on Monday night, what would you want to do? I'd try to put up 100 (points) if I could," said Broncos wide receiver Demaryius Thomas. "I don't know if that's possible, but I'd try."

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But the prevailing emotion for McCoy as he prepared for the game, he insisted, was gratitude, not animosity. There is no revenge being written into the game plan.

"I give all the respect in the world for everyone in the (Chargers) organization," McCoy said. "I can't thank the Spanos family enough for everything and for the opportunity they gave me back in 2013 to lead their organization. I understand the importance of the game being a division game. It's our opener and it's our home opener, playing in front of our greats fans and everything. I have a lot of respect for all of those players. A lot of great people, not just players but the way every coach and every player, through some tough times, fought their tails off every day. There was no excuse as we just showed up to work every day, but unfortunately we didn't win enough games.

"We're excited here and that's the thing now. I've got a new home and we're ready to go."

The quips about his aging process speeding up aside, McCoy's four years as a head coach helped shape his approach as he began his second stay in Denver. He recalled times when he sat in meeting rooms with then-Chargers defensive coordinator John Pagano, diving deep into conversations about schemes and techniques as they developed plans to try to slow the Broncos' Thomas.

"I learned so much more about the game," McCoy said.

A reinvigorated McCoy was eager to bring those lessons back to Denver, where he reunited with offensive assistants Eric Studesville and Tyke Tolbert, who had both been on the staff with McCoy throughout his first stint with the Broncos. They, with the input of new quarterbacks coach Bill Musgrave, offensive line coach Jeff Davidson and others, constructed a playbook that combined pages the Broncos mastered in 2012 with new elements McCoy pulled from his time with the Chargers. It's a system designed to help the Broncos look more like the No. 2 scoring offense they were in 2012 than the 22nd-ranked outfit they were last season.

"I remember when Mike McCoy first got here. I said, 'Let me see.' I had my closed arms, like, what do you have to say?' " wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders said while visiting The Denver Post last week. "Here he comes, the guy walks in and he says, 'We're going to the the number one offense! We're going to be this! We're going to be that!' At first, I had been sitting back and I had my arms crossed, and then I was like, 'Yeaah, let's go. It's time. We're back.' It's all about the leader. Mike McCoy believes we're going to be number one, and he preaches it every single day."

After installing his plan in the spring and sharpening it during organized team activities in June, the offense began to hit its stride as the temperature rose during the second and third weeks of training camp. Trevor Siemian said that was the point when a light went on, allowing him to reach another level that helped him win the quarterback competition over Paxton Lynch. The Broncos kept things simple in the preseason, but knowing grins from offensive players in the week leading up to the regular season signaled an eagerness to unleash McCoy's new product.

It's an offense, running back C.J. Anderson said, built by the coordinator's "swag and sass."

"I think just being around him more, not just me but the whole offense, we're just understanding how he's thinking things through, what our jobs are and, as a quarterback, how you need to manage things," Siemian said. "I have to continue to grow in that aspect and I think once we get going into some games, that's when it will really come along."

There are no soft openings in the NFL. Nobody on the Denver staff knows as well as McCoy the havoc that Chargers pass rushers Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram can bring create off the edge. He's watched Pro Bowl cornerback Jason Verrett turn the slightest mistake by a quarterback into a game-changing interception. He used to celebrate when defensive tackle Corey Liuget would single-handedly wreck a running play. A new offense, one that must reach its potential if the Broncos hope to return to the postseason, faces a stiff early test.

McCoy passed his knowledge of Chargers personnel to any Denver coach or player who sought it last week. But if there was anything those four years in San Diego — and the gray hairs that came with them — taught him, it's that there is only so much a coach can do.

"I've answered plenty of questions, whether it's the staff here or the players here, for some tips," McCoy said. "It's all about the players going out there and executing."

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